3. Long Island Sound Crossing (Oyster Bay Bridge)

In response to the growing congestion which had developed on the east-west arteries between Long Island and New York City – particularly on the Long Island Expressway and Northern State Parkway – a number of proposals for a Long Island Sound crossing were discussed. Robert Moses joined forces with the New York State Department of Public Works to conduct a feasibility study for The Oyster Bay – Rye Bridge, a $150 million, 6.1-mile-long (9.8 km) suspension bridge, that would complete the Interstate 287 beltway around the New York Metropolitan area. At the time, many Long Island officials and Governor Nelson Rockefeller had supported the project.

A number of financial problems, however, delayed the construction of the bridge. In 1969, the office stated that the bond market to help fund the bridge was too soft. Then the gubernatorial election for Rockefeller, coupled with the campaign for the Republican-controlled legislature in New York and governor the following year, further halted the project. In addition, opposition to the bridge was beginning to form on both sides, as plans to turn the Oyster Bay into bird sanctuary and a protected park were brought to light. Deterred by the number of set backs, Governor Rockefeller canceled the project on June 20, 1973, nine years after it was first proposed by Moses.